Railroad tie



March 6, 1945. l v.L B. cARMl-cr-IAEI.V 2,370,715

RAILROAD T IE Filed `Aug. 24, 1945 am es a. cARmHAEL V IN VEN T OH A TTORNE Y Patented Mar. `6, 1945 UNITED STATESv PATENT QFFICB- RAILROAD TIE yJames B. Carmichael, Seattle,- Wash. Application August 24, 1943, Serial No. 499,796

2 Claims.

The presentl invention relates to the art of railroad ties and in more particular to vthe art of fabricated ties as compared tothe natural 1 able quickly, the cost of installing the ties will be excessive. If the fastening means is not simple, the unskilled workmen usually employed for this work will not be able to do the job. The fastening means must not be subject to rapid deterioration, but when once installed it must last for twenty to thirty years without service. If the track is not securely held to the tie, the resulting relative movement will allow creep in the track and excessive wear of the tie' with a great reduction in the life thereof.

While it is desirable to haveA a heavytie in order to have a solid bed, it is important that this weight be distributed over as large an area as possible so as to prevent the tie from sinking into the road-bed.

Having in mind these vdefects of the prior art, it is an 4object of the present invention to devise a fabricated railroad tie that has combined therewith a rail securing means that is simple and easy to operate, and which will permanently and firmly tie the rail and tie together.

Another object of the present invention is to construct a tie securing means which will draw the tie and rail together by a simple Wedging means.

A further object of the invention is the pro- Vision of a tie anchor plate that may be secured to a tie by means oi a simple drift pin.

Yet another object of the present invention is the provision of an anchor plate and locking arrangement that will tighten the rail to the tie.

Still another object of the present invention is the provision of a hollow tie that will provide a wide bearing surface for the tie.

A still further object of the present` invention is the provision of a concave bearing face for the tie which allows the tie to compact the bed upon which it rests.

The above mentioned defects of the prior art and others are remedied or ameliorated, and the enumerated objects and others that will be apparent from the hereinafter description are attained by means of the device shown in the accompanying drawing, in which: Y

Figure 1 is a perspective View of a tie embodying my invention, and in conjunction with a standard railroad rail,

Figure 2 is partial longitudinal section View of the tie shown in Figure 1l and is taken on the line 2-'2 of liigure,v

Figure 3 is a transverse sectional view of central portionv ofthe tie' and is taken on the, line 3-3 of Figure 1,

Figure 4 is a sectional view on line 4--4 oi Figure 2,

Figure 5 is a View illustrating the method of attaching an anchor plate' to a rail,

Figure 6 is a perspective View of an anchor plate used in the present invention, and

Figure 7 is a perspective view of a cover plate which is associated with the tie of the present invention and which is used-for closing the end openings of the tie.

In the views of the drawing there is shown a tie I .which is preferably made of cast steel or cast alloy steel that is rust proof or rust resistant. The tie I is a hollow elongated frustum having the bottom, or'bearing, surface 2 concave.

The open ends 3, 4 of the tie are slopedoutwardly so that When closed by a cover 5 such cover will naturally stay closed without the use of special securing means. The ends of the tie are provided on their upper portions with loops 9 forming slots 6, 'I into Which the upper anged end 8 of the cover 5 is adapted to be inserted. These slots and loops then serve as hinges and retainers for the cover, in cooperation with the iiange 8 of the cover.

The upper face of the tie adjacent each end is provided with rail bearing surfaces lil, II.

and spaced apart that when one hook is arranged over one flange of a rail as shown in Figure 5 the other hook may loe/swung above the other flange of the. rail and then both hooks seated on their respective rail iiange. Secured to each plate is a locking pin I9 that is adapted to fit in a hole 20 in the side of the tie.` The free end of this pin has a slot 2| to receive a drift pin 22. Driving of the drift pin into the slot is possible because of the open end of the tie, particularly due to the slant to the open end. It is also to be noted that the slot of the pin is slanted With respect to the horizontal so that a Worker standing above the tie may swing a maul down upon the head of the pin. One of these plates is arranged on each side of each end of the tie, making four anchor plates in all ron each tic.

That portion of the tie against which each of the anchor plates rests has a concave face '23 with the curvature in the vertical plane. These anchor plate seats 23 have their vertical sides bounded by ribs 24, 25 that aid in preventing shifting of the anchor plates and the rails with respect to the tie.

In the use and operation of the above described device, the fabricated steel tie may be laid in the `usual 'road bed rin :the :same manner as present employed. The -concave bottom surface zwill,

v.under loading, compa-ct the ybed therebelow and the tie will 'not Asink -or shift as `much as 4vvill a square sectioned Wooden tie. 1n placing-the tie, f. i

Vplacing rst one and then the-other .ofthe hooks l1, I8 over a rail flange.y The anchor plate-pins 19 are then placed inthe openings 20 :and a drift pin 22 is inserted into the slot 2l ineach locking ,-pin. These drift pins are then :driven tight in the slots.` These locking pins, their slots,

and the drift pins are so proportioned that as the drift pins are driven home, the anchor plate will be bent to conform to the curvature of the;`

anchor plate seats 23. This bending and drawing down of the anchor plate into its seat draws the ears l1, I8 down upon the rail flanges and securely seats the rail on the tie and prevents relative movement therebetween.

From the above description of my invention and its operation and use, it .is believed that its construction, ,operation and many .advantages will be clearly understood.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

l. A railroad tie having a tubular cross section, and locking means comprising an anchor plate adapted to be secured to a rail, a locking pin attached to said plate extending through an opening formed .in a side of said tie, a drift pin tting in a slot in said locking pin and bearing against the inside of said tie for tightening :and .securing said rplate Lto ssaid tie, "and `a concave depression in the :side ,of Aisaid ti'eiinto 'which vsaid anchor plate is forced Aby said :drift pin vfor tightening the rail against said tie.

2. yA vrailroad =tie `having a vertically concave depression on theside ofthe tie rimmediately be- .lowthat point on :the upper tie surface Where `a rail is placed, 4ananchor plate f-adapted to zbe secured ,to such lpositioned railfand to lie along- Vside 'said concave surface, Vand lmeans for `dravving `said Yanchor plate :securely :against isaid conlcave surface to spring .the anchor .plate and to thus tighten the railtowthe '.tie.

IJAMES fB. CARMICHAEL. 

